Drawing lessons from previous waves of the coronavirus pandemic, Uttar Pradesh has begun to prepare to respond to Omicron (a new variant of the coronavirus), as the country has reported 21 cases.

According to the news agency ANI, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered officials to speed up vaccination and vigorously follow the recommendations of the Health Advisory Committee on the prevention and treatment of Covid-19.

The government has further ordered the relevant authorities to ensure strict compliance with the Covid-19 protocol, testing, vaccination, surveillance and disinfection in all areas of Uttar Pradesh.

Citing sources from the Office of the Chief Minister, ANI also provided 100 beds for all medical schools in the state and 50 new beds for CHC and PHC. ANI further reported that approximately 3,011 PHC and 855 CHC are equipped with all advanced facilities. In addition, the state government is monitoring arrangements for oxygen, beds, and laboratories. If the number of coronavirus cases increases, the demand for these facilities may increase significantly.

The government also commissioned the state’s 73,000 monitoring committees to ensure compliance with all instructions regarding new variants of the new coronavirus.

Uttar Pradesh has not yet found a case of Omicron. However, cases of this new variant have been detected in four states-Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat-and the capital Delhi. At the end of last month, South Africa reported the Omicron variant to the World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time. According to the World Health Organization, the first known confirmed B.1.1.529 infection came from a sample collected on November 9 this year. The World Health Organization has classified Omicron as a “variant of concern.”

Since the mutation was discovered, dozens of countries, including India, have imposed travel restrictions on southern African countries.

WHO Director-General Tedros Tedros said earlier that as more information about the new strain becomes available, the number of Omicron coronavirus variants is expected to increase.

News Source : Hindustan Times